Boseman admitted that he wasn’t confident that he would land the role of Drax. He also noted that the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while all of a piece, did occasionally have their own unique tones. Not knowing the studio’s approach to “Guardians of the Galaxy” meant that it was going to stand apart. Boseman noted:
“I didn’t think I was gonna get it. And it’s weird, too. It’s a testament to Marvel because […] ‘Ant-Man’ has a different tone and feel, and we didn’t know what that was gonna be. We didn’t know what ‘Guardians’ was gonna be. So, I didn’t know what it was. I only had a few pages [of the script] at that time. So, it was just good to come in and play to see what they did with it.”
Sadly, Boseman’s audition tape has not been leaked to the public, so we can only imagine the actor’s approach to a role like Drax. This is amusing, given that Boseman would eventually play a more stoic, regal figure in “Black Panther.” T’Challa is a far cry from the comedic brutishness of Drax. Fallon asked Boseman if his Drax audition was what put him on the Marvel ledger for “Black Panther” a few years down the road. Boseman was diplomatic, saying:
“Sometimes that’s the way it works as an actor. You go in knowing you’re not gonna get it, but you’re meeting the people that might be like, ‘It’s not this, but we’ll put him in this other thing.’ So I feel like this was one of those moments where they were like, ‘Oh, we could use him later.'”
Boseman then credited casting director Sarah Finn for keeping him in mind for “Black Panther.”
Well done.